A local tipster turned us on to this Columbus, Ohio mega-mansion, the second largest in the state, and its whirlwind story of dreamers and fraudsters. The massive manse was first conceived by housing guru Don Ettore, who fell in love with traditional European castles and tried to turn his 5,000-square-foot contemporary into a sprawling Continental reproduction measuring almost 30,000 square feet in total. The three-year project was so extensive that a pair of local architects opened an office on the property. Ettore enlisted a Columbus artist to paint Tuscan murals throughout the property, asking him to "clear [his] schedule for three years." With all the bills, the owner soon ran into financial difficulty and tragically died before the house was complete. That's when things really took a turn for the worse, as business associate Thomas Parenteau took over the house and construction, completing the house to his liking before going to jail for 22 years on charges of "bank fraud, tax conspiracy, money laundering and other crimes." Now bank-owned, the property is listed for a whopping $4.7M, a price that far outpaces the local market.
· 4500 Dublin Road [Realty Ohio]
· Spectacular Parenteau mansion disguises tale of greed and wrongdoing [Columbus Dispatch]
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